It looks every bit as good as I could've hoped for. We can only hope the critical success translates into commercial success. We need Sony to see that this is what we want.
Gaming PlayStation 5
- Thread starter ArmandTamzarian
- Start date
Hearing the new Astro Bot is around 12 hours long, is that accurate? Incredible score anyway, think the gaming industry needed something geared towards actually being fun. Away from Nintendo of course.
You don’t have to be youth oriented to be fun.
Of course not, just nice to have something innocently fun, I guess.
I was thinking along these lines. Usually the games that get the high scores are super serious and that style has become has become so saturated over the past 5 years. I'd much prefer the industry gravitated back towards fun stuff.
Outside of Nintendo, that's probably true. I don't need just one or the other, just a good deal of variety, which Sony has been missing for a while now.
I’d say that Rachet and Sackboy also gave me that same basic childish / chill fun experience. I’ll admit that I personally prefer taking my games seriously with immersion being the biggest gamer high for me but there’s a place for just a relaxed fun time. It may not be the same for others but I’d say Insomniac games in general including Spidey is just a plain old good time for me (not played 2). They’re simple enough with a bit of depth if you want it, look terrific and mechanically strong.
Looking to pick up a monitor for the ps5. Any recommendations?
Had a quick mooch and gigabyte m28u looks like a decent shout at an ok price point too.
Had a quick mooch and gigabyte m28u looks like a decent shout at an ok price point too.
Astrobot is...............
A motherfecking 94 on Metacritic.
A motherfecking 94 on Metacritic.
Oh man, this is going to be a treat! Actually considering staying up to play for half an hour. Is it going live at 12?
I gave in and bought Astro. Am off for the month so feck it, rare I actually pay full price for a game in 2024 anyway. Can’t wait!
Did the same, first full priced game I've bought in years. Last one I can remember is Returnal.
Did the same too!
I'll join the chat when it's on PS Plus next July.
Not going to happen. They’ve learnt their lesson with the Horizon FW experiment which cost them. Don’t think we’ll see Sony’s first party titles anytime soon.
The Digital Foundry review on YT sold it to me. Played like 40 minutes before bed last night and was absolutely blown away. Different gravy to dare I say it, Mario Odyssey even. Really think it's set the benchmark now.
I feel like AstroBot is one of a very few games that's pushing the gaming capabilities of the PS5 while other companies focus more on the visuals.
Sony are basically doing what Nintendo do, with superior tech, but still staying within the boundaries of what the PS5 is capable of. No Ray Tracing for example or anything that'll drag performance down. It feels like a genuine continuation of the classic PS1 platformers, and Sony going back to their creative routes from that era. Except it's now five generations ahead.
The most frustrating thing is that everyone in game production could see for themselves what the haptic feedback and triggers could do; everyone was blown away by Astro's Playroom. It's not as if it was some shitty gimmick. It was the fecking Playstation demo ffs. Four years on and not a single AAA, AA, or indie team could put one fecking game together that made even decent use of the capabilities of the duel sense. It's taken Astro Bot again to do something with it. Will game designers learn? Probably not.
There were a couple, most notably Returnal. Most of Sony's first party games make subtle use of its features, not to the extent of Astro but I don't thinks that's necessary in every game. Subtle use is often enough to enhance the experience.
Third parties have pretty much ignored it though. It was predictable, but still a shame.
Yep, agree.
Astro's playroom is such as enjoyable experience and still holds a freshness to it due to its creative use of the PS5 controller.
It hasn't surprised me though that very few gaming companies have severely underused the potential of the kit.
It'll likely need Xbox to take it up in their controllers before we see it used more widely by third parties. Hell, 10+ years on there are companies still not utilising gyro more because they say the Xbox controller doesn't have it so it would be unfair. Guessing the new controller will be out with the next Xbox in 2026.
Games like CoD and that use the triggers well I thought ? Harder to press with certain weapons and things like that. Or am I making that up and thinking of another game? 
I can't believe there has been a generation of people who have never got to experience a timesplitters game.
Horizon tried it with the triggers trying to mirror the tension of drawing the bow but it felt shit. I turned it off.
Been playing Astro Bot for the past 5 hours now. Absolutely terrific game. Just so fun. Really unsurprised at how high the ratings are for it.
Best multi player shooting game ever
While not to the extent of Astro and more adaptive triggers than dual sense there are still many games that make use of the controller. For example, Returnal as @Ainu has one of the most immersive uses of the controller I’ve seen. But even aside from that, I personally feel that while devs could and eventually will do more, even the subtle ways in which it’s used in games makes a big difference. For example Cyberpunk’s various arsenal feels so weighty becuase of excellence use of the adaptive triggers with shotguns and sub machine guns feeling completely different. Riding on horses on Far Cry 6 or Witcher 3 next gen are also other examples but there are quite a few.
Astro of courses makes full use of the controller which is different albeit maybe not suited for every experience. Like I said, for me Returnal is the way to do it. It’s meaningful and immersive without overdoing it. I mean even the basic controls - hold trigger half way to aim - use it there.
It's not my thing but it is really nice to see a game like this - 12 hours long and creative- doing well. Hoping it might encourage Sony to diversify their gaming output.
Excited to play Astro with my boy. His favourite game is the built in Astro. He’s been counting the days to play this since I showed him the trailer in July.
Had a couple of hours on it. Great fun. Really wish more developers would make use of the DualSense as it’s fantastic when utilised.
Driving on gravel on Far Cry 6 is a dream, I must admit.
Regarding Cyberpunk, I would be interested to see if they can inplement haptic feedback relative to proximity to blasts or mines, ranging from very strong, to weak.
I just played Returnal for 15 minutes since my last post as despite not being a completionist it could be my first platinum if I have the patience. Even in that time what struck me - and I do absolutely adore it - is how wonderful the controller experience is in playing it. The boost, the raindrops, environmental effects, aiming and shooting - just fantastic how snarky it uses everything.
Haven't played it yet but my daughter is absolutely loving it. She's just about to turn 7 and hasn't ever really got into games. Mario she likes for 5 minutes but struggles quite quick and gives up.
I was concerned it might be too easy but if it acts as a good gateway game for her then it's a winner.
I was concerned it might be too easy but if it acts as a good gateway game for her then it's a winner.
Just got through the God of War level. It's a beautiful game but I already know it's gonna be a one and done kind of job. Hopefully they have some of those time challenges like playroom for afters. Got quite competitive on the climbing one in this house.
Having a lazy Sunday playing Astro Bot, what a beautiful platformer it is. Perfect for just turning off your brain and having fun. This is going to sell like hot cakes around Christmas I'd say.
Looking forward to getting this myself. Also managed to get one of the Astro Bot controllers, although I'm tempted to sell it seeing some of the prices it's going for.
I'm still not too far into the game, only a couple of levels into the second galaxy, but it's clear this is something special. The last level I played yesterday night, damn.
Astro's Playroom and Returnal did great things with the Dualsense but at its best, Astro Bot is just on another level. When everything comes together, the interactivity in the level, the amount of stuff happening on screen, the sounds coming from the controller and the haptics, it truly feels like you have a miniature version of the level in your hands. It's impossible to understand until you've experienced it for yourself, it's the most tactile video game I've ever played, and it's not even close.
Even without all that, its level design and the sheer creativity makes it a 10/10 platformer, but add all of it together and this could become an all time classic in the genre. I can't wait to find out what they've got in store in all the other levels, but I know I'm going to take my sweet time with it. I already don't want this to end.
Astro's Playroom and Returnal did great things with the Dualsense but at its best, Astro Bot is just on another level. When everything comes together, the interactivity in the level, the amount of stuff happening on screen, the sounds coming from the controller and the haptics, it truly feels like you have a miniature version of the level in your hands. It's impossible to understand until you've experienced it for yourself, it's the most tactile video game I've ever played, and it's not even close.
Even without all that, its level design and the sheer creativity makes it a 10/10 platformer, but add all of it together and this could become an all time classic in the genre. I can't wait to find out what they've got in store in all the other levels, but I know I'm going to take my sweet time with it. I already don't want this to end.
Did the same thing, brilliant game to be fair.